Wood returned because the Angels are concerned about the back spasms that knocked infielder Maicer Izturis out of Sunday's game in Detroit. Wilson was summoned to add catching depth in light of Jeff Mathis' bout with the flu over the weekend.

Wood, a former first-round pick, said he struggled in the first week of games at Salt Lake before finding himself offensively. He had raised his average to .273 and was driving the ball for power, hitting eight home runs and driving in 18 runs in 21 games as the team's everyday shortstop. He helped the Bees to a 21-1 start, a Pacific Coast League record.

Wood said he worked on implementing new hitting mechanics -- efforts to shorten his stride -- that the Major League coaching staff asked him to work on starting last year, when he hit .152 in 13 Major League games.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he wanted Wood in Anaheim to give him additional coverage on the left side of the infield. Erick Aybar will remain entrenched at short.

Scioscia said he could play Chone Figgins at shortstop if he had to. But with Izturis's status uncertain Monday, Scioscia moved Figgins over to second base and played Robb Quinlan at third base against Oakland.

Regular second baseman Howie Kendrick is close to returning from the disabled list from a strained left hamstring. He ran cone drills on the infield Monday afternoon and said he's thinks he's closer to being ready, but he's still not sure exactly when he will be. Scioscia said the team wants to proceed with caution and give his hamstring the time it needs to mend.

"I don't know," Kendrick said. "When it's 100 percent, that's when I'll be back. There are no guarantees. Hopefully, I'll be going good and hopefully I'll continue to progress."

Wood can play shortstop or third base, which gives him value right now. But with Aybar playing well, his role in Anaheim this time will be as a bench player.

"I started off the year in Triple-A struggling for about the first five or six games," Wood said. "I feel like that was good. You're going to go through it whether it's the middle of the season, the beginning or the end. I just tried to regroup, relax and play the game. Since that, I've been going really good."

He also said that he wants to show that he can consistently hit Major League pitching.

"You want to be consistent," Wood said. 'Whether it's in rookie ball or the Major Leagues, it's all about consistency. I've made a lot of improvements just in the last two weeks as opposed to that first week. I just want to keep going with that and hopefully it takes me somewhere good."

John Klima is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.